As automobiles and other vehicles advance, more information is used and generated by the vehicles both in terms of quantity and types of information. For example, modern automobiles store a user profile that can include data about a driver's preferred seat position, preferred temperature, and preferred radio stations. Infotainment systems, global positioning systems and on-board diagnostic systems in automobiles also provide and use large amounts of data. Such vehicle systems can greatly improve the transportation experience offered by the vehicle. Typically, each type of vehicle data is handled independently by an independent vehicle system related to the particular type of data.
To retrieve data from a vehicle or update data in a vehicle system, a physical connection is typically made to the vehicle system, whereby the data can be accessed. For vehicle system data to be updated or accessed, a user must be physically present at the vehicle or system. For example, to retrieve data from an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system, a mechanic connects an OBD reader to the OBD system to read the OBD codes. As another example, user media such as music can be loaded using compact disk (CD) player installed in the vehicle. As another example, user profile data can be changed by a driver through manipulation of certain buttons or use of a user interface. Each system typically has a dedicated, separate interface. Certain vehicle systems usually have no information about the presence of each other; i.e., these vehicle systems are typically not aware of each other. For example, GPS is not aware of a vehicle-based infotainment system, and an OBD system is not aware of GPS system, etc.
Another drawback to current vehicle systems is that user interfaces for vehicle systems are typically very limited, partly because the separate vehicle systems do not interact. Various types of vehicle system data are available in modern vehicles, but the vehicle systems operating on the vehicle system data have been developed and deployed separately. Thus, the information from various systems is not presentable or updateable remotely or through one common user interface.